Thompson Hine opens Silicon Valley office, absorbs IP boutique

Thompson Hine has expanded to Silicon Valley by absorbing intellectual property litigation boutique Turner Boyd Seraphine, adding a West Coast foothold to its national IP and technology litigation platform, the firm announced Tuesday.

The combination brings 12 lawyers and six staff members to the Cleveland-founded firm and establishes a new Silicon Valley office to be led by Turner Boyd Seraphine founding partner Jennifer Seraphine. Thompson Hine now counts roughly 35 IP and technology litigators across offices on both coasts.

"For years we've been told our firm punches above its weight," Seraphine said. "We went up against the big players and matched them toe-to-toe."

Thompson Hine's scale, she said, will allow the team to maintain that approach while expanding its reach.

"Thompson Hine's resources will let us keep doing that while significantly increasing capacity," she said. "A deeper bench of IP litigators, plus the innovation and technology Thompson Hine has invested in, will help our clients tremendously."

Firmwide Managing Partner Anthony White said the move reflects a deliberate growth strategy focused on building a differentiated national platform.

"We are actively pursuing expansion," White said. "The legal industry is pushing firms to diversify their client base, revenue sources, and practice capabilities. Over the past 18 months, we've launched three new offices: Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Silicon Valley, which opened January 1. We see the need to grow, and we've been doing so."

"Silicon Valley is the next deliberate step in building a coast-to-coast platform--pairing statewide coverage in California with a national IP & Technology Litigation bench that can lead in the venues that matter most," White said. "Pairing that national coverage with deep Midwest roots creates a pricing advantage that competitors cannot easily match."

The Silicon Valley opening marks Thompson Hine's third new office in 18 months, following Los Angeles in July 2024 and Minneapolis in March 2025. White said the addition materially strengthens the firm's trial capabilities and technical depth.

"The addition of Turner Boyd Seraphine is a tremendous next step in our national growth strategy, materially enhancing our trial capabilities and technical coverage across key venues," he said. "We're building one of the very few Am Law Second 100 platforms that can credibly handle sophisticated IP and technology litigation from coast to coast at market-appropriate rates that align with clients' expectations."

Seraphine said the merger also expands offerings for Thompson Hine's existing clients.

"For Thompson Hine's clients, we're now poised to provide a full intellectual property litigation team," she said. "Thompson Hine already has great IP litigators, and we'll significantly increase those numbers."

Turner Boyd Seraphine has earned national and regional rankings in Litigation-Intellectual Property, Litigation-Patent and Patent Law from Best Law Firms.

Karen Boyd, a Turner Boyd Seraphine founder, said she and Julie Turner launched the firm more than 17 years ago, with Seraphine joining 13 years ago and becoming a partner a decade ago. The firm declined acquisition overtures for years before reaching this agreement.

"For 17 years, firms have approached us about acquisitions, but this was the first that made sense," Boyd said. "We had an existing relationship with Thompson Hine, and their financial structure let us slot in seamlessly."

White said the combined practice now includes a 36-lawyer IP and technology litigation group, with dedicated litigators in 10 of the firm's 11 offices, handling matters in the Northern District of California, the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the District of Delaware, the Federal Circuit, and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and International Trade Commission.

"That breadth truly differentiates us in the market," he said.